14th - Samburu NP

Today was spent on game driving in the national park. We left the lodge in the early morning at 0730, came back around 1200 for lunch and relaxation, went out again at 1600 with a final return around 3 hours later. Dinner and readying to leave for Lake Naivasha at 0700 tomorrow morning.

So despite the itinerary saying it would be a full day worth of game drive it fails to mention the 4 hour break we had in the middle of the day back at the lodge.

There was obviously stuff to see on the drives but the density of the wildlife doesn’t seem as high as I had hoped. Most of the sightings today were of animals we already had seen yesterday, but today we managed to see the 5 lion cubs we were chasing yesterday while still being parked on the road. That’s at least an improvement. And there are plenty of elephants and giraffes.

Kori bustard.

Abyssinian Roller.

Red-and-yellow barbet.

Vervet monkey.

Guenther's dik-dik.

Rueppell's glossy starling.

Superb starling.

Gerenuk (waller's gazelle).

Vulturine guineafowl.

Young baboon grabbing on to a older family member.

Elephant.

Grevy's zebra

13th - Nairobi – Samburu NP

Getting up at 0600 was surprisingly easy considering the little sleep I had had on the flight down. Also, apparently the entire bar tab issue had rustled my vacation calm more than I was aware of as I hadn’t fallen asleep until after 0100. I went down for breakfast and informed my bar company of what had happened which resulted in a lot of surprised and offended reactions. Luckily the reactions weren’t pointed at me so the matter was quickly settled.

We left at 0730 and drove north towards Samburu NP. The drive was quite uneventful except when crossing the equator. Here we were presented with the Coriolis Effect; they had a bucket with a small hole in the bottom and a couple of matchsticks which were laid on the water’s surface. 10m north of the equator the matches and water streaming from the hole twisted clockwise, south they would go counter-clockwise, and right on the equator the water would drain straight out resulting in the matches not moving. I was surprised that the difference was so obvious despite the three testing spots were so close to each other. I suspected foul play, but even when trying to stop the matches with your finger they would automatically start twisting again the correct direction when letting them go.

We arrive at the lodge in Samburu at 1430 where we had our lunch before departing on our first game drive in the afternoon at 1600. Being an afternoon game drive it was only 3 hours, but in that time we managed to see giraffes, impalas, onyx, elephants, dik diks, lions, a caracal (my first sighting!) and several other. Quite a successful start on the trip!

We returned at 1900, and the rest of the evening was spent on dinner and relaxation. Breakfast tomorrow at 0645 and departure for the morning game drive at 0730.

We are using the same drivers and vehicles for both transport and game drives. The vehicles are Toyota Hiaces which have been refitted with a raisable roof so you can stand up and look out without having to look through windows, strengthened suspension, reinforced bottom and sturdy tires. Unfortunately the roof is just 5 cm too low for me when it’s raised so I’m not able to stand straight. It makes it easier when alone in the vehicle so that I can lean up against a seat decreasing my height enough to make it more comfortable. The drivers/guides are local so they drive like any other Kenyan. None of this came as a surprise, but what did come as a surprise was that they were willing to drive off the road in the NP even though they are fully aware they are not allowed to do so. My shots of the lions in the park could only be done because the driver went 20-30m off the road, within 5 meters from the lions. But I honestly don’t really care; all my previous safaris the drivers and guides have been very strict about staying on the roads and not disturbing the animals so this new behavior surprised me a little. I have asked him not to do this again and I think he fully understood my intention. I know that they do it to give their customers a better service, but I hope that he will stop doing it. 

Equator.

Dragonfly minding it's own business on the lodge's pathway.

Common agama.

Reticulated giraffe.

Yellow-necked Spurfowl. A couple of these were crossing the road when we were looking for the lions.

Caracal.

The lion family with two large females and several young of different sizes.

Back to Africa!

We have high intensity most of the year at work due to a large project so it’s limited when I can go travelling this year. With the summer vacation filled up by my trip to India, Easter is probably the only other time I can plan ahead to get out of the country. And already having one climb planned I was hoping to find a safari/wildlife trip instead.

Looking around I realized that finding a safari in Africa during the exact days I have off during Easter is actually harder than expected, and they are mostly not cheap (sorry: budget-friendly) camping trips like the ones I am mostly used to. I was looking for another trip to Kruger, but looking around I realized I could get a few extra days for the same price in Kenya instead, and adding to that I have never been there before, the decision ended up being quite easy.

11^th of April

Departure in the evening to Nairobi via Amsterdam. Being the Friday before the vacation departing in the evening means I still get to have a workday. Got to keep the boss happy!

12^th of April

Pick up at arrival (early morning) and getting checked in at the hotel in Nairobi. Go and visit The Giraffe Centre where close encounters with giraffes are to be expected. Lunch at Karen Coffee Garden, the old administration building of Karen Blixen’s coffee plantation, followed by a visit to her museum. Depending on the time we might see some local workshops or visit David Sheldrick Wildlife Trust. I believe it won’t be necessary to tell where I would prefer going.

We’ll have dinner at Restaurant Carnivore which apparently is a very famous restaurant. I believe the name is enough to explain what their focus is.

13^th of April

Drive to Samburu National Park which brings us north and across the equator. The beginning of the game drives!

14^th of April

A full day of game drives in Samburu NP. The goal is to spend as much time looking at wildlife so lunch (and maybe breakfast) will be brought with us.

15^th of April

After breakfast we drive down into the East African Rift, the large continental rift that passes through East Africa (hence the name, duh). We’ll have lunch at Thompson Falls before taking a boat trip on Lake Naivasha, at an altitude of 1890m.

16^th of April

Leaving the lodge at Lake Naivasha we drive to Masai Mara. Not much more is needed I believe, as most people know what Masai Mara entails.

17^th – 18^th of April

Masai Mara. Not much else it needed to be said. Game drives, game drives, game drives. We'll also have the chance to fly a hot air balloon to see things from above, but considering the price I will probably skip it. Visiting a Masai village during these days is also an option.

19^th – 20^th of April

We will have a short drive to finish the visit in Masai Mara before leaving and heading back to Nairobi. Getting on a plane in the evening and return back to Denmark on the Sunday in the morning.

For those of you who are wondering what kind of accommodation there will be on the trip now that I mentioned that it’s difficult to find a cheap camping trip during Easter (which in a way makes sense as it is in the beginning of the rainy season, so camping for a week during potential heavy rains with camera equipment would be pretty bad) here are some links for you to enjoy:

Samburu Sopa Lodge (13^th – 15^th)

Lake Naivasha Sopa Lodge (15^th – 16^th)

Masai Mara Sopa Lodge (16^th – 19^th)